James Greenwood 
Seven Curses of London [PDF ebook] 

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. The Pauper Population. — Pauper Children. — Opinions concerning their proper Treatment. — A Hundred Thousand Children loose in London Streets. — Neglected Babies. — Juvenile Market Prowlers.<br><br>It is a startling fact that, in England and Wales alone, at the present time, the number of children under the age of sixteen, dependent more or less on the parochial authorities for maintenance, amounts to three hundred and fifty thousand.<br><br>It is scarcely less startling to learn that annually more than a hundred thousand criminals emerge at the doors of the various prisons, that, for short time or long time, have been their homes, and with no more substantial advice than to take care that they don’t make their appearance there again, are turned adrift once more to face the world, unkind as when they last stole from it. This does not include our immense army of juvenile vagrants.